Metals and Disease: A Global Primary Health Care Perspective

Metals are an important and essential part of our daily lives. Their ubiquitous presence and use has not been without significant consequences. Both industrial and nonindustrial exposures to metals are characterized by a variety of acute and chronic ailments. Underreporting of illnesses related to occupational and environmental exposures to chemicals including metals is of concern and presents a serious challenge. Many primary care workers rarely consider occupational and environmental exposures to chemicals in their clinical evaluation. Their knowledge and training in the evaluation of health problems related to such exposures is inadequate. This paper presents documented research findings from various studies that have examined the relationship between metal exposures and their adverse health effects both in developing and developed countries. Further, it provides some guidance on essential elements of a basic occupational and environmental evaluation to health care workers in primary care situations.

• Publication year

  2011

• Venue

  Journal of Toxicology

• Publication date

  2011-10-05

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1155/2011/319136PMID 22007209PMCID 3189586
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Genome Sequence of the Mercury-Methylating Strain Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ND132

  2011cited by this paper
• Hospital admissions for neurological and renal diseases among dentists and dental assistants occupationally exposed to mercury

  2011cited by this paper
• Bioavailability of Cadmium in Inexpensive Jewelry

  2011cited by this paper
• Knowns and unknowns on burden of disease due to chemicals: a systematic review

  2011cited by this paper
• Toxic chemicals in toys and children's products: limitations of current responses and recommendations for government and industry.

  2010cited by this paper
• Forecasting global generation of obsolete personal computers.

  2010cited by this paper
• Current status of cadmium as an environmental health problem.

  2009cited by this paper
• Lead, mercury, and arsenic in US- and Indian-manufactured Ayurvedic medicines sold via the Internet.

  2008cited by this paper
• The second question of the occupational history: what is the riskiest part of your job?

  2007cited by this paper
• From mad hatters to dental amalgams: heavy metals: toxicity and testing.

  2007cited by this paper
• Interpreting and Managing Blood Lead Levels of Less Than 10 μg/dL in Children and Reducing Childhood Exposure to Lead: Recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention

  2007cited by this paper
• Human Exposure to Lead in Chile

  2006cited by this paper
• Relationship of Lead, Mercury, Mirex, Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene, Hexachlorobenzene, and Polychlorinated Biphenyls to Timing of Menarche Among Akwesasne Mohawk Girls

  2005cited by this paper
• Lead Exposure in Children : Prevention , Detection , and Management

  2005cited by this paper
• Lead Exposure in Children: Prevention, Detection, and Management

  2005cited by this paper
• Heavy metal content of ayurvedic herbal medicine products.

  2004cited by this paper
• Ambient Air Pollution: Health Hazards to Children

  2004cited by this paper
• Estimating the global burden of disease of mild mental retardation and cardiovascular diseases from environmental lead exposure.

  2004cited by this paper
• Lead poisoning associated with ayurvedic medications--five states, 2000-2003.

  2004cited by this paper
• Occupational Medical History Taking: How Are Today’s Physicians Doing? A Cross-Sectional Investigation of the Frequency of Occupational History Taking by Physicians in a Major U.S. Teaching Center

  2004cited by this paper
• The Effect of Arsenic Mitigation Interventions on Disease Burden in Bangladesh

  2004cited by this paper
• Hazards of heavy metal contamination.

  2003cited by this paper
• High blood lead level among garage workers in Bangkok, public concern is necessary

  2002cited by this paper
• From the World Health Organization. Reducing risks to health, promoting healthy life.

  2002cited by this paper
• The environmental history in pediatric practice: a study of pediatricians' attitudes, beliefs, and practices.

  2002cited by this paper
• Clinical Environmental Health and Toxic Exposures

  2001cited by this paper
• Toxicity of Complementary Therapies: An Eastern Perspective

  2000cited by this paper
• Identifying critical windows of exposure for children's health.

  2000cited by this paper
• Approach to the patient with an occupational or environmental illness.

  2000cited by this paper
• Chinese Proprietary Medicine in Singapore

  2000cited by this paper
• Use of a Questionnaire to Improve Occupational and Environmental History Taking in Primary Care Physicians

  2000cited by this paper
• Medical Students’ Abilities to Take an Occupational History: Use of the WHACS Mnemonic

  2000cited by this paper
• Public Health Statement

  1999cited by this paper
• Risk factors for high blood lead levels among the general populationin Taiwan

  1998cited by this paper
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

  1997cited by this paper
• Occupational illness.

  1995influential reference
• Case Studies in Environmental Medicine

  1995cited by this paper
• The public health significance of metal neurotoxicity

  1994cited by this paper
• Occupational medicine (1).

  1990cited by this paper
• Occupational medicine. (2)

  1990cited by this paper
• Development and validation of a self-administered occupational health history questionnaire.

  1984cited by this paper
• Environmental and occupational medicine

  1983cited by this paper
• Vitruvius, Lead Pipes and Lead Poisoning

  1981cited by this paper
• Arsenic and arsenic compounds.

  1980cited by this paper
• Intra-uterine methylmercury poisoning in Iraq.

  1974cited by this paper
• Mercury

  1964cited by this paper
• Agrosan poisoning in man.

  1963cited by this paper
• Oral Treatment of Pernicious Anaemia with Vitamin-B12—Peptide

  1961cited by this paper
• American Academy of Pediatrics Technical Report: Mercury in the Environment: Implications for Pediatricians

  year unknowncited by this paper

• The environmental chemical exposome and health insurance: Examining associations and effect modification of epigenetic aging in a representative sample of United States adults

  2025cites this paper
• [Heavy metals and derangement in carbohydrate metabolism in eye diseases: a systematic review].

  2025cites this paper
• Lead Chromate Adulteration in Ecuadorian Spices

  2025cites this paper
• Toxicogenomics of Arsenic, Lead and Mercury: The Toxic Triad

  2025cites this paper
• Integrated multi-index, GIS and multivariate statistical approaches for groundwater quality assessment in the Saïss Basin, Morocco

  2025cites this paper
• Review of Health Hazards in High-Entropy Alloy Processing Under Laboratory Conditions and Risk Assessment Using a Simple Risk Scoring Model

  2025cites this paper
• Assessing metal concentrations in muscle tissue of blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) from coastal Maryland compared to the Florida Peninsula.

  2025cites this paper
• Recycling potential of medical plastic waste

  2024cites this paper
• A comprehensive review of production and characterization of biochar for removal of organic pollutants from water and wastewater

  2024cites this paper
• Association of metals with early postnatal gut microbiota among infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit.

  2024cites this paper
• ASSESSMENT OF HEAVY METAL CONTAMINATION IN WASTEWATER IRRIGATED FARMS IN MEKNES, MOROCCO

  2024cites this paper
• Assessment of contaminant levels in locally cultivated vegetables using Agra Canal water and its associated health risks

  2024cites this paper
• Potentially toxic elements in soil–plant–water-animal continuum in a mining area from Northwestern Mexico: animal exposure pathways and health risks for children

  2024cites this paper
• Designing of bis-organosilanes as dual chemosensor for Sn(II) and Al(III) ions: Antibacterial activity and in silico molecular docking study.

  2023cites this paper
• Chemical of concern for raising awareness to Indonesian textile sustainability

  2023cites this paper
• Dietary intake and trophic transfer of cadmium and lead from three daily consumption vegetables in Quito, Ecuador

  2023cites this paper
• Evaluation of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons pollution in residential, agricultural and commercial soils in Ngong, Kenya

  2023cites this paper
• Colorimetric Detection of Heavy Metal Ions Using Superabsorptive Hydrogels and Evaporative Concentration for Water Quality Monitoring

  2022cites this paper
• Heavy metals and neurodevelopment of children in low and middle-income countries: A systematic review

  2022cites this paper
• Accumulation and Enrichment of Trace Elements by Yeast Cells and Their Applications: A Critical Review

  2022cites this paper
• Exposure of metal toxicity in Alzheimer’s disease: An extensive review

  2022cites this paper
• Association between trace metals exposure and hearing loss

  2022cites this paper
• A comprehensive summary of disease variants implicated in metal allergy

  2022cites this paper
• A Multistage Public Health Response to Pediatric Lead Exposure: A Case Study on Lead Tainted Turmeric in an Immigrant Family

  2022cites this paper
• Содержание тяжелых металлов в некоторых овощах, цитрусовых плодах и чайных листьях, производимых в Азербайджанской республике и их продуктах переработки

  2022cites this paper
• Association Between Blood Lead Levels and Hypertension in a South Indian Population: A Case-Control Study

  2022cites this paper
• Soil washing by biodegradable GLDA and PASP: Effects on metals removal efficiency, distribution, leachability, bioaccessibility, environmental risk and soil properties

  2022cites this paper
• Demonstrational gardens with EDTA-washed soil. Part I: Remediation efficiency, effect on soil properties and toxicity hazards.

  2021cites this paper
• Metal concentrations in coastal sharks from The Bahamas with a focus on the Caribbean Reef shark

  2021cites this paper
• Prenatal lead exposure, telomere length in cord blood, and DNA methylation age in the PROGRESS prenatal cohort.

  2021cites this paper
• Determination of some heavy metals concentration in species animal meat (sheep, beef, turkey, and ostrich) and carcinogenic health risk assessment in Kurdistan province, western Iran

  2021cites this paper
• Carcinogens in Food: Evaluating the Presence of Cadmium, Lead, in Poultry Meat in South India

  2021cites this paper
• Poly (vinyl alcohol)-alginate as potential matrix for various applications: A focused review.

  2021cites this paper
• Risk Factors for Lead Toxicity and its Effect on Neurobehavior in Indian Children

  2021cites this paper
• NDS_A_283451 1..7

  2021cites this paper
• From Mangrove to Fork: Metal Presence in the Guayas Estuary (Ecuador) and Commercial Mangrove Crabs

  2021cites this paper
• A Health Risk Assessment of Lead and Other Metals in Pharmaceutical Herbal Products and Dietary Supplements Containing Ginkgo biloba in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area

  2021cites this paper
• NSA_A_296722 101..111

  2021cites this paper
• Removal of heavy metals from soil with biochar composite: A critical review of the mechanism

  2021cites this paper
• Fast and Reliable Synthesis of Melanin Nanoparticles with Fine-Tuned Metal Adsorption Capacities for Studying Heavy Metal Ions Uptake

  2021cites this paper
• Metal induced Neurotoxicity and Neurodegeneration

  2021cites this paper
• A Quantitative Comparison of Heavy Metal Concentrations in the Soils on Two Rocky Mountain West tribal Reservations

  2021cites this paper
• A global reconnaissance of particulates and metals/metalloids in untreated drinking water sources

  2021cites this paper
• Association of blood lead levels with neurobehavior and BDNF expression in school going children.

  2021cites this paper
• Fluorescent Sensing And Determination Of Lead (II) Ions In Water

  2021cites this paper
• The associations of multiple metals mixture with accelerated DNA methylation aging.

  2020cites this paper
• Removal of toxic metals from water using chitosan-based magnetic adsorbents. A review

  2020cites this paper
• Identification of a New Heavy-Metal-Resistant Strain of Geobacillus stearothermophilus Isolated from a Hydrothermally Active Volcanic Area in Southern Italy

  2020cites this paper
• Advances in Sensing Technologies for Monitoring of Bone Health

  2020cites this paper
• Potential of Biochar for the Remediation of Heavy Metal Contaminated Soil

  2020cites this paper
• Individual species and cumulative mixture relationships of 24-hour urine metal concentrations with DNA methylation age variables in older men.

  2020cites this paper
• Microbial Remediation of Heavy Metals

  2020cites this paper
• Soil washing with biodegradable chelating agents and EDTA: Technological feasibility, remediation efficiency and environmental sustainability.

  2020cites this paper
• Cadmium stress consolation in melatonin supplemented Cucumis sativus through modulation of antioxidative defense system

  2020influential citation
• Relevance of Essential Trace Elements in Nutrition and Drinking Water for Human Health and Autoimmune Disease Risk

  2020cites this paper
• Adverse Human Health Effects and Regulation of Metal Contaminants in Terrestrial Plant‐Derived Food and Phytopharmaceuticals

  2020cites this paper
• Hybrid LIBS-Raman-LIF systems for multi-modal spectroscopic applications: a topical review

  2020cites this paper
• Body Burden of Lead, Cadmium and Vanadium among HIV Patients on Antiretroviral Drugs in Port Harcourt, Niger Delta, Nigeria

  2020cites this paper
• Trace metals' migration in soil to seepage water

  2020cites this paper
• A Spoonful of Lead: A 10-Year Look at Spices as a Potential Source of Lead Exposure

  2019cites this paper
• Mercury soil contents and associated ecological and health risks in kindergartens and functional areas of the city of Vanadzor (Armenia)

  2019cites this paper
• Rhizobacteria for Reducing Heavy Metal Stress in Plant and Soil

  2019cites this paper
• Heavy Metal Content in Soils and Hair of the Inhabitants Near Copper Zinc Mine (Bashkortostan, Russia)

  2019cites this paper
• Synthesis of Silica Gel Supported Amidoxime Ligand for Adsorption of Copper and Iron from Aqueous Media

  2019cites this paper
• Molecular Mechanisms of Heavy Metal Toxicity in Cancer Progression

  2019cites this paper
• Dental Status and Specific Immunity of the Oral Cavity in Adolescents Living In Ecologically Unfavorable Areas

  2019cites this paper
• Trends of electronic waste pollution and its impact on the global environment and ecosystem

  2019cites this paper
• Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in fish and prawn in the Persian Gulf, Iran.

  2019cites this paper
• Ecologically Determined Violations of the Electrophysiological State of the Myocardium in Children Living in The Industrial District of the City of Vladikavkaz

  2019cites this paper
• 2-Hydroxymelatonin induced nutritional orchestration in Cucumis sativus under cadmium toxicity: modulation of non-enzymatic antioxidants and gene expression

  2019cites this paper
• Metals and Metalloids Release from Orthodontic Elastomeric and Stainless Steel Ligatures: In Vitro Risk Assessment of Human Exposure

  2019cites this paper
• Biomarkers of exposure and effect in a working population exposed to lead, manganese and arsenic

  2018cites this paper
• Recent Advances in Carbon Dots for Bioanalysis and the Future Perspectives

  2018cites this paper
• Metal-Tolerant Thermophiles: From the Analysis of Resistance Mechanisms to their Biotechnological Exploitation

  2018cites this paper
• MOLECULAR CHARACTERISATION OF POTENTIAL ARSENIC AND NICKEL RESISTANT BACTERIAL ISOLATES

  2018cites this paper
• Distribution and predictors of 20 toxic and essential metals in the umbilical cord blood of Chinese newborns.

  2018influential citation
• Association between blood lead level and blood pressure: An occupational population-based study in Jiangsu province, China

  2018cites this paper
• Introducing Greek Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Adverse Health Effects of Occupational Exposure to Metals

  2018cites this paper
• Element-specific behaviour and sediment properties modulate transfer and bioaccumulation of trace elements in a highly-contaminated area (Augusta Bay, Central Mediterranean Sea).

  2017cites this paper
• Health Risk Assessment Due to Heavy Metals Exposure via Consumption of Bivalves Harvested from Marudu Bay, Malaysia

  2017cites this paper
• Biochemical composition of turbinid snails and its sensitivity to ocean climate change

  2017cites this paper
• Potential Exposure and Risk Associated with Metal Contamination in Foods

  2016cites this paper
• Investigation of nutritional properties of three species of marine turban snails for human consumption

  2016cites this paper
• Inorganic contaminants and composition analysis of commercial feed grade mineral compounds available in Costa Rica

  2015cites this paper
• Metal and metalloid concentrations in the tissues of dusky Carcharhinus obscurus, sandbar C. plumbeus and white Carcharodon carcharias sharks from south-eastern Australian waters, and the implications for human consumption.

  2015cites this paper
• Ayurveda – Opportunities for Developing Safe and Effective Treatment Choices for the Future

  2015cites this paper
• Toxic Metal Contamination of Banked Blood Designated for Neonatal Transfusion

  2015cites this paper
• MAPK pathway activation by chronic lead-exposure increases vascular reactivity through oxidative stress/cyclooxygenase-2-dependent pathways.

  2015cites this paper
• Study of Black Sand Particles from Sand Dunes in Badr, Saudi Arabia Using Electron Microscopy

  2015cites this paper
• Iron Containing Superoxide Dismutase of Streptomyces subrutilus P5 Increases Bacterial Heavy Metal Resistance by Sequestration

  2014cites this paper
• Association between blood lead and blood pressure: Results from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (2007 to 2011).

  2014cites this paper
• Association between blood lead and blood pressure: Results from the Canadian Health Measures Survey

  2014cites this paper
• Continuing issues with Lead: Recent Advances in Detection.

  2013cites this paper
• Nivél de exposição de trabalhadores a metais presentes em poeiras de pedreiras e fábricas de granito na zona de Ponte de Lima. Tentativa de avaliação do risco.

  2013cites this paper
• Comprehensive Comparison of Trace Metal Concentrations in Inhaled Air Samples

  2012cites this paper
• Heavy metals toxicity

  2012cites this paper
• AN EXPLORATORY INVESTIGATION INTO CHEMICAL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES: A CASE STUDY OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES WITHIN NOVA SCOTIA

  2012cites this paper
• Potentially Toxic Elements in Local Cigarettes and Marijuana Leaves of Bauchi State, Nigeria: Public Health and Environmental Implications

  year unknowncites this paper